Thiruthangal

The Moolavar is known as Thiruthangal Appan. this name is given to him by the alwar. the moolavar is seen along with Sri  devi, Bhoo devi and Neela devi in standing posture facing east. he is also called Nindra Narayana or Sthitha Narayana. the Thayar is known as Sengamala Nachiar or anna Nayagi. usually when there is a separate sannidhi for the thayar she is seen in sitting posture but here she is seen standing facing east She is very powerful and many a devotees have their wish fulfilled by praying sincerely to her. the vimana is Soma Sandha Vimana. the temple and Lord are located on a small hillock known as Thanga malai. there are four theerthams Baskara theertham, Sanga theertham and Padma theertham The Arjuna Nadhi is about two miles north but is considered one of the temple theerthams. The Lord appeared to Sri devi, Pururavas, Bana the asura, Lord Siva, Muruga, Markandeya, Brighu Maharishi and a tiger. the place is also known as Thiruthangal, Thiruthangalur and Sripuram. there is an old proverb that says if one visits thiruthangal there is no rebirth for him in this world. the figure of Garudar opposite the Perumal sannidhi is seen holding the Amudha Kalasam in his right hand, the left hand is seen holding a snake. Two other hands are seen in anjali pose.
In the Garbagriha along with the Moolavar there are idols of 11 others along with Narayana seen in standing pose. On the right side is seated Markandeyar and Garuda with his hands folded in standing posture. Visvakarma, Sri devi, Bhoo devi, Neeladevi and Aruna are also seen on the right side. Perumal has his right hand directed towards his feet and the left hand kept on the waist. (what an interesting pose) to the left of the Moolavar, Jambavati, Usha, Anirudhan, Brighu Maharishi are seen. In front of the Moolavar the Pancha berars are seen.
there are a number of stone inscriptions at the bottom of the vimanam on the top of the Garbagriham as also on the sides of the vimanam.
Once Upon A Time in Naimisaraniyam, Suthapuranikar was present. The rishis there asked him to relate the story of Sri Kshetram which is another name for Thiruthangal. Suthapuranikar said that the story relating to Sri Kshetra Mahatmiyam is very powerful and will confer blessings on all those who listen to it and that whoever listens or reads this story will be blessed with the presence of thayar in his/her house.
Budha, one of the Navagrahas, had a grand son. His name was Pururava Chakravarthi. He was a great warrior as also a person who upheld dharma. He was a great administrator. he was also very kind.when he became old, he entrusted the kingdom to his sons and along with his wife went to the forest. He met the rishis. They welcomed him. The rishis asked the king as to why he had come to the forest. The king replied that however wealthy and famous a man may be, if he does not have peace of mind, there is no purpose and pleasure in life. The king said that all the pleasure in the world are not permanent. They do not give true happiness and that an intelligent person would always want to attain moksha. The king said that he had reached that stage of enlightenment and so had sought the rishis so as to learn from them the means to attain salvation. The rishis replied " you please visit the Divya Desams where the Lord is having nithya vasams. You should also stay in those places and offer service to the sages and in due course you will attain your objective. amongst all the Divya Deshams, you should without fail, visit Sri kshetram (Thiruthangal)" they said they had heard from Narada the greatness of that Divya Desham andthat they would repeat to him whatever they heard from Narada.
In that place Para Vasudeva along with Thayar is residing. In that place there are five theerthams and a small hillock. It is full of wise men. all the sins can be washed away by having a bath in Papanasa theertham which is an important theertham in that place. The other theerthams like Bhaskara theertham, Sanga theertham and Padma theertham are also equally important. In the north Arjuna river flows. it is considered to be the amsam of Ganga nadhi itself. the small hillock is known as Thanga Parvatha. along with thirumangal thayar, Bhoo devi and Neela devi are also there. having related all this the sages continued to relate as to how this place got the name sri kshetram.
Once Upon A Time when Perumal was lying down in tiruparkadal in yoga nidra, there was a discussion between Sri Devi, Bhoo Devi and Neela Devi. They wondered as to who amongst them was greatest. The discussion became heated as the ladies in waiting of the three of them started putting their points forward. the ladies in waiting of Sri Devi said that Lakshmi alone is the greatest. She only is the embodiment of prosperity in this world. she is the eternal mother. she is mangala Devathai. she is the most favourite of Perumal. It is because of association with Lakshmi Devi that Perumal is known as Sripathi, Srinikethan and Srinivasan. Brahma, Indra and other Devas were all waiting eagerly to have a glimpse of this goddess of wealth. Only if her kataksham rests on a person, people get peace of mind. Vedas praise her only. so said those ladies. Immediately the ladies in waiting of Bhoo Devi said that it is Bhooma Devi who is the greatest amongst the three. Bhooma Devi is greater than others as she is the very foundation for this earth (Jagathaatharam). It is she who is bearing with immense patience this entire world. Vishnu is very fond of her. It is the earth that provides us with food, cloth and shelter. As she is the mother earth, it is with her blessings that we are able to live in this world. When Perumal took the form of Vamana he requested from Mahabali in the yaga salai three feet of this earth only. during the pralaya times Perumal saved mother earth from destruction. Vedas also praise her. She is known as Darani Darithri and sarvam Satra. the God manifests himself in his Varaha avathar in order to rescue this thayar. Even Lakshmi is very fond of BhooDevi who is the most important so said those ladies. Now it was the turn of the ladies in waiting of neela Devi to enumerate the points in her favour. they said that the other two Thayars are fully aware of the greatness of Neela Devi. The Vedas also praise her, as she is seen in Rasa roopa. vedas refer to the Perumal as "Rasovaisaha". she is seen as water. she is Athishtana Devatha of water. she was the person who was entrusted by Perumal the Purana Purushar with the task of creating this world. water is also known as Naram. As Perumal is lying down on the laps of Neela Devi i.e. cosmic ocean he is known as Narayana. the Neela suktham praises this Thayar so said the ladies. the argument continued. Sri Devi got annoyed and she left the place and went to Thiruthangal hill. In that hill she started her tapas. When thirumagal came to Thiruthangal hill, the rishis started worshipping her. Pleased with their bhakti the Goddess promised to give them whatever boon they asked. They said Oh Devi we are happy that we have your darshan. We feel we have achieved our life's objective; but even then we have one  request. You should reside here with the name Aruna kamala Mahadevi. she consented and after the rishis left she continued her japa of Ashtakara mantram. Perumal was pleased and came down from tiruparkadal and assured her that she was the most important amoung the three Devis and so she was known as Periya Pirati he also assured her that it was because of her that he was known as Sriyah Pati. he said a slight glance from her would attain for the blessed the status of Indra brahma etc. she was pleased and requested the Lord to be seen in the same pose as that of Tiruparkadal here and that he should continue to stay there with her and bless the devotees. Bhoodevi and Neela devi also came and bowed before her. The Lord said henceforth the place would be known as Sri Kshetram.

Thothadri Thirucheeri Varamangai Nanguneri

Vanamamalai or Thothadri. the Moolavar is known as Thothadri nathan seen in sitting posture facing east. the Utsavar is known as Devanayakan with two thayars on either side. under the Nandavarthana vimanam. god appeared to Brahma, Indra, Romasamuni, Brighu and Markandeya rishi. this is a swayamvyukta kshetram. the others are Badri kasramam, salagramam, Naimisaranyam, Pushkkaran, Tirumalai, Srirangam, and Thothadri. there is a mention of this kshetram in Brahmanda puranam in 16 chapters.
Sootha Puranikar has related the stories connected with this place to the sages in Naimisaranyam. so many winding stories 
here Nammalwar does not have a separate sannidhi he is seated at the feet of the Lord.
Here is the seat of the Vanamamalai mutt the jeers reside here. Every day poojas and abhishekams are carried out religiously with oil which is then poured into a well. a few spoons of this is said to cure any illness.

towards collective redemption.

The origin of creation is an individualisation - the manifestation or emanation of many, as units, out of the undividedand indivisible Single. It meant freedom for each unit to choose; the individual became, so to say a unit of freedom. the immediate result, however, was not very successful, apparently, for the individual unit chose to follow a path exactly opposite to its origin: the individualisation happened as if an element shot out of the infinite unity and flung itself in its momentum, as far away as possible, to the other pole so to say. that is how the one spirit became the infinite particles of inconscient matter. The purpose and problem then set was to bring back the straying elements to their source and origin. (we all know how difficult it is to get a son or child to be like the father or parent)
The work was long travail. it is taking ages and ages for the one being who could do to prepare slowly, mount the steps gradually along which creation slid down, recover the ground painfully and achieve the hidden purpose, vindicating amply the deviation and the fall. through devious ways, long winding, arduous marches the spirit of evolution laboured through millenniums, the instrument utilised by the divine grace.
The original individual was a hard concentrated point of ego, concerned wholly and absolutely with itself. So a situation of give and take was brought about so that even to exist meant to exist through others. human society began in this way. the solitary human animal for its own sake had to come out of its solitariness, take to a mate and thus gradually bring up a family. the wall of egoism was broken to that extent, its scope extended. This enlargement of the ego continues increasing the content of the unity. From family then enlarged to a tribe,  then into a nation, larger and larger aggregates are being formed, the whole of humanity has begun moving as an aggregate. the individual has learnt to find himself in the life of humanity as a whole. he has to look up to the whole creation as one existence through which he has to exist. thus the universe is recovering its original indivisible unity, but it has gained something in the process. for it is not the featureless unity at the source but an enriched and multiple unity in expression. an individual in his collective consciousness turn back and move straight to its original unity. he can establish direct contact, commune and unite with the divine himself from whom it came and strayed away. the ranges of ascent are within him and are in line with those outside which the universe is traversing in the path of evolution. Such is the process the Divine grace has undertaken to fulfil the divines purpose in creation.

Towards redemption.

Creation is self objectivisation of the Supreme Divine; A: It is the supreme consciousness putting itself out of itself so that it may look at itself. In so doing in self objectifying and self dividing- it scattered itself abroad: the one infinite multiplied itself into infinite atoms. Not only so, in detaching itself from itself the consciousness became the very opposite of itself: Consciousness became unconsciousness, spirit became matter, delight became pain, knowledge became ignorance, and light became darkness.
Boundless universality was the essential nature of the Divine, now it got clotted into the knots of egoism upon which is based this inconscient creation. In the midst of this utter negation, this denial by the universe of its origin, the Divine love descended and lodged itself in order to bring back the erring creation to its lost home. The Divine love became involved and entangled in the Inconscient, became one with it, The divine mother in her grace only she could suffuse the inconscient universe with her grace transmute it into its original nature.
The first effect or visible sign of this descent or divine infusion is the emergence of the psychic or the soul element in the material body; it is the speck of consciousness imbeded in matter, inhabiting the apparently dead particle or aggregate of particles, which continually grows in and through its relation of action and reaction with its surrounding unconsciousness, it at the same time extends its light into that darkness transforms it gradually into what it was originally at its source.

Selfless worker.

I look for my conscious mind and I find it no more...
Normally one is conscious of oneself. Whatever one does or whenever one does something, the conscious always remains behind, "I am here I am doing" and if the sense of I am is not there, one can do nothing. all action stops automatically if I do not see or feel that I am acting. But that is the nature of ordinary consciousness; in the spiritual consciousness things are otherwise. spiritual consciousness means the consciousness in which I am or even I am doing has disappeared, got dissolved. truly the work is done not by me, by the sense of I ness, but by prakriti, Nature, apparently by lower nature, secretly by Higher nature. When the I disappears the force that has been working continues to work, only the sense of I attached to it is no longer there (in ignorance and by ignorance) or say the I has completely merged itself into the working Force and is one with it. What is conscious is not the personality or the individual I but the force of action.

Sweet Holy Tears.

The tears that the soul sheds are holy, are sweet; they come bidden by the Divine and are blessed by His presence. They are like a dew from heaven. for they are pure they are spontaneous, welling out of a heart of innocent freedom. the feeling is infinitely impersonal, completely egoless; there is only an intense movement of self giving, total simple self giving. Tears are the natural expression in one who needs help, who has the complete surrender and simplicity of a child, the abdication of all vanity. such tears are beautiful in their nature and beneficent in character. they are therefore like dew drops that belong to heaven as it were and come from there with a sovereign healing virtue. such tears are not idle tears but are instinct with a power, an effective energy which brings you relief ease and peace. it is not only pure but purifying, this feeling made of quiet intensity and aspiration and surrender; it is unmixed free from any demand or need of reward or return; it is so impersonal that the aspiration is, so to say even independent of the object for which it exists. Indeed the Divine only can be such a one, who can respond fully to the intensity and ardent sincerity of your approach, you come holding your tearful soul as a complete self-offering, you do not know what tremendous response you call forth, the blessing divine you bring down in and around you.

The feast is that of transformation, the Divine Life on earth. Man is not capable of it, cannot attain it by his own effort or personal worth. It is the Divine who is to bring it down Himself. he is to manifest himself and establish his own life here below. then it will be possible for the human creature to open to the urgency of the new beauty and offer his surrender. one must leave behind all the lower ranges of ignorance, the entire domain of human consciousness, come out of the imperfections man is made of, then only will he put on the divine nature as his own body and substance.

From Keerthana tarangini.

Thirukoodal Azhagar koil ref:
Keerthana tarangini the Maharashtra Harikatha in Nagari script of four volumes.
Once Sri Krishna noticed Garuda had become very haughty as he was the divine vehicle for Vishnu. so Perumal created a situation which necessiated a duel between Hanuman and Garuda. Garuda was throughly defeated, he got scared of Hanuman and ran from god to god for protection. finally he sought refuge at the feet of Krishna, Lord Krishna assumed the form of Pattabhisekha Ramar and pacified the angry Hanuman. The icon in the azhagar koil is said to represent this scene of compromise between Hanuman and Garuda. Hanuman is standing majestically with half sarcastic smile playing on his lips. Garuda is seen kneeling down by his side in a very humble apologetic pose with hands folded as if he is asking to be excused for hie earlier haughtiness. The bronze image of Garuda is seen as a beautiful male figure with a pair of wings. he is kneeling on both the legs. he is seen wearing ornaments of serpant and sarpa kundalam. this the icographic experts say is in variance with the way normally garuda should be shown. viz kneeling his left knee and the crown should be adorned with snakes and the body like that of a human anjali. similarly also the iconographers say that Hanuman too is not moodled in the conventional manner. here he is shown as a well devloped youth with yagnopavetha and other ornaments, the only garment he is wearing is the waist band. he is seen standing at great ease. His right hand touching the wounded mouth of Garuda, his left hand is holding the upper garment that apparently got loosened during the fight.  he has a monkey face his ears are also like that of a monkey. unlike the usual figure of Hanuman, five jatas are falling down from the head to the neck. this resembles the jatas on the figure of Nataraja. there is also a srivatsa mark on the bronze figure of Hanumar. perhaps the sculptor while sculpting this icon might have marked it on the chest of Hanuman as an indication of the auspicious nature. hanuman is depicted as a stalwart with well developed body and limbs full of energy. the Hanuman image is ten inches tall wheras that of Garudar is half in size. a similar image is also seen in Sriperumbudur on a pillar in front of udaiyavar shrine.